The storage of fluids and liquids that are essentially free of contaminants and bacteria is important across a number of different industries. For example, in the medical field, the storage of bodily fluids, such as blood, in containers that are free of pyrogen are important. In particular, pyrogen is a substance or agent that produces fever. Pyrogen may be present in containers that store bodily fluids. Accordingly, such containers may contaminate the bodily fluids stored therein with this pyrogen. A current requirement from a number of government agencies (including the Federal Drug Administration (FDA)) is that such containers are to be heated to at least 253 degrees Celsius for at least approximately 30 minutes to one hour (to remove pyrogen therefrom) prior to storage of the fluids.
A conventional approach is to use glass containers because such containers may withstand the required temperature. However, the use of glass containers can be problematic. In particular, the glass containers may break if dropped. Moreover, such containers, which cannot typically be reused in certain applications (storage of bodily fluids), are relatively expensive.
A typical application of storage of fluids that are to be sterilized and pyrogen free includes the transfer of blood from a first individual to a second individual. In particular, the blood is drawn from the first individual and stored in a glass container (that has been sterilized and free of pyrogen). Subsequently, the blood is transferred into the second individual. However, when glass containers are used in such an application, air is typically trapped in the glass container along with the blood. Therefore, when the blood is transferred into the second individual, if such transfer is not closely monitored, the air in the glass container can be transferred into the second individual as well. A conventional approach to preclude the introduction of the air into the second individual during the blood transfusion is to include an electronic monitoring. Accordingly, when the transfer of the blood is completed, the electronic monitoring detects that air is in the connector (coupling the glass container to the body). The electronic monitoring then closes a shutoff valve inside the connector to preclude the transfer of air from the glass container into the body. However, such equipment that allows for the electronic monitoring is relatively expensive and must be unique for each individual receiving a blood transfusion.